This invention relates to shuttlecar wheel ends and in particular to the wheel units which are used on underground mining shuttlecars and on which the wheels of the shuttlecars are mounted.
In conventional shuttlecar designs, one motor provides drive to the right side wheel units and another motor provides drive to the left side wheel units. In the conventional arrangement there is a three speed reduction system to reduce the high motor speed to the rotational speed driving the wheel units. The first reduction is by a transmission gearbox located adjacent the relevant motor. Drive from the transmission gearbox is transmitted through a drive shaft to a set of bevel gears, serving as a right angle drive and differential, where the second speed reduction takes place. The final speed reduction takes place in the wheel unit itself.